My First post, first question

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I have cooked using the traditional Weber kettle for almost thirty years, and once or twice per year, doing a turkey. I love the incredibl, crisp, Mahogany skin that I achieve. I wonder if the color and skin might not dissapoint when I fire up my brand new SmokeyMountain for it's first thanksgiving run next month. Any insights as to what I might expect, any general tips, etc. My actual maiden excursion will be either this weekend or next (some details to be finalized) will be with a whole brisket. I'm excited.

Cheers, Tim Harrigan
 
Tim
I've been cooking WSMs for a while and love the cooker, I still smoke turkey on a kettle cause it is one of the best turkey cookers the world has ever seen.
Brisket, butt, ribs and other meats the kettle can do the job but the WSM is the cooker of choice.
Jim
 
Tim, as other will tell you, with the WSM, you will want to either take the water pan out or not put any water in the pan at all.

Geting the color you have become accustomed to isn't the issue, its the crisp skin. In order to get the crsipness you'll need a higher temp than 225. Without the pan or water in it and the vents on the bottom all the way open, you will be able to achieve a much higher temp than you would normally do ribs, pork butt or brisket. You should be able to see 325 or 350 easily if you do it like this.

If you choose, you can do it the traditional way of the WSM...low and slow and then fire up the kettle or gasser and finish the skin on a higher heat to "crisp" it up!!

Glad you are aboard...while turkey is nice...you want to get your hands on some ribs or a pork butt to see the real results of the WSM!! Good luck and ask away...we are here to help!!
icon_smile.gif
 
Hi Tim, I too am new to the WSM and on my first cook I done a Chicken and ribs, what I learned is that the results from cooking chicken on the WSM are not as good as what I got from the weber 22 1/2" grill, the skin turned all rubbery and was not very eddible, as Greg said Pork butt and ribs are best cooked low and slow and the results are excellent. I still have to try cooking chicken/turkey without water in the pan to see if it turns out as good as the weber grill. At least I will still be using my 22 1/2" grill for something, it would be a shame for the WSM to replace it completly.
 
Tim

I too have 30 years experience doing turkeys on the kettle including several Thanksgiving turkeys at 20 below. I got my WSM this April and have since done 4 turkeys, all of which were excellent. For me an empty water pan and a top vent temperature of 350 produced great results and crispy skin.

Griff
 
Hi Tim,

Click the orange "Cooking" tab at the top of this page, then scroll down to "Poultry" and you'll find several articles about turkey in the WSM, including photos.

Also, here's an exceptionally pretty turkey cooked in the WSM by Keri C.

Finally, take a look at the Turkey Selection & Preparation article for additional tips. The most important tip of all: Do a trial turkey in the WSM before Thanksgiving so you know what to expect.

Regards,
Chris
 
To Chris, and all:

Thanks for all the tips - I'll stick to the 22 1/2" kettle fr BigBird. Sorry I'm slow responding, but the feedback is surely appreciated.

Tim Harrigan
 
Tim, since you're a seasoned kettle turkey cooker, why not give the WSM an early try and see what you get?

I've never done it myself....but I did my first ever beer can turkey today on the kettle and it was lovely.
 
Susan,

Thanks -

I will certainly give it try - but not for Thanksgiving where the entire "free world" is depending on it. :-)

Nor will I be able to try it in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I'll have it perfected for next November. My next major project will be the brisket and/or a fresh ham (to practice on and see if we can have a go at one for Christmas}.
 
Tim,

There are several ways to sucessfully choke a chicken. That being said, when Jim Minion responds to your post, you will be very hard pressed to find better advice!

Mike
 
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